Thursday , March 28 2024
The new worldwide tour by Don Henley, Joe Walsh, Glenn Frey and Timothy B. Schmit's legendary rock group may be its last ever, and it features a true treat: the return of co-founder Bernie Leadon.

In 2013, The Eagles Continue to Make “History”

The Eagles, featuring Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit, are in the early stages of a worldwide tour and have an eventful, dramatic and intimate story to tell and sell about their band, which came into existence in 1971. The iconic California classic rock group kicked off its “History of the Eagles” tour on July 6 in Louisville, Kentucky, and recently added dates for October and November, according to the band’s official site, eaglesband.com. They are performing the usual classics (“Life in the Fast Lane,” “Tequila Sunrise,” “Hotel California”), as well as songs never before played live, and selections that were featured in a recently released career-spanning documentary, also titled History of the Eagles. (According to recent setlists, fans will also be treated to seeing The Eagles play classics by Walsh, including blues rock hit “Rocky Mountain Way” and “In the City.”)

History of the Eagles Live in ConcertBut perhaps the biggest delight of all is that the band’s co-founding guitarist Bernie Leadon has joined his former bandmates on tour for the first time since 1975. The only other time he’s played with the band since then was at the group’s Rock Hall of Fame induction ceremony in 1998. After ’75, Walsh took over for Leadon. (Ex-member Randy Meisner was asked to tour but could not due to health reasons, while guitarist Don Felder was not invited – he sued the band two times after being fired in 2001. The lawsuits were eventually settled out of court years later, but he’s still pursuing legal action, according to Henley.)

The Eagles’ in-fighting, successes (over 120 albums sold worldwide), break-up (in 1980) and reunion (1994) and overall legacy is all covered on their new documentary, which runs over three hours long.  Released on April 30, it is a three-disc set available on standard DVD, Blu-ray, and limited edition “super deluxe” forms, the latter coming with three Blu-ray discs (1080p video resolution) and all kinds of unique goodies, including a casebound 40-paged book full of still photos from the documentary. All releases come with 5.1 Surround Sound,  and Stereo audio options, along with concert performances from the Eagles’ two-night stand at the Capital Centre in Washington, D.C., in March 1977 during the Hotel California tour.

The bad news is that Henley recently stated that the tour “could very well be” the band’s last major tour. The good news is that it will last until 2015, so there is plenty of time for you to get yourself Eagles tickets and enjoy the history of this great band, perhaps one last time.

About Charlie Doherty

Senior Music Editor and Culture & Society (Sports) Editor at Blogcritics Magazine; Prior writing/freelancing ventures: copy editor/content writer for Penn Multimedia; Boston Examiner, EMSI, Demand Media, Brookline TAB, Suite 101 and Helium.com; Media Nation independent newspaper staff writer, printed/published by the Boston Globe at 2004 DNC (Boston, MA); Featured in Guitar World May 2014. Keep up with me on twitter.com/chucko33

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